5 best Android phones for audiophiles

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There are two distinct types of smartphone music listeners. Type one is the Spotify streamer, the MP3 listener who can vibe to their tunes without a care in the world. Headphones that sound like they're made of tin are good enough for them. Type two is the audiophile, someone who avoids lossy music and cheap headphones. Nothing less than the best-wired headphones will do for their discerning ears.

Let's not forget the third type - the smartphone user who only listens to music through their phone's speakers and wonders why everyone else is making such a fuss about sound quality. To each their own, right?

Favoring those who appreciate the nuances of sound quality (you know who you are), here are the top 5 Android phones to own if you're into audio quality, each equipped with a state-of-the-art DAC (Digital-to-Analog Converter) and pristine hi-fi music processing innards, as required for the playback of those juicy high-resolution audio formats.

1 ASUS Zenfone 9 Equipped with the alliterative pairing of a jack and a DAC, the tiny Zenfone 9 isn’t new, nor is it a flagship smartphone, but it does have a reputation for powerful onboard stereo sound, and there’s no distortion in evidence when curious sonic aficionados decide to push the 32-bit acoustics envelope.

Watch out for battery life Of just a little concern, that groove-infused beat might be interrupted at the worst possible moment because the Zenfone 9 is a power-hungry eater of battery energy. Also, being a few years older, 8GB of RAM comes standard, although audiophiles can still find a 16GB model if they’re willing to spend a little more time searching.

2 LG V60 ThinQ While not the latest model, in fact, this one may be considered ancient, having been released in early 2020, the LG V60 ThinQ is still a good option for audiophiles because of its quad DAC. Kick in some 320 kbps jazz or a FLAC format deep bass trance track to experience the rich, full soundscape on a pair of Sennheiser HD1s, affordable and leather-stitched as they are.

Screen and sound are main stage here The LG V60 ThinQ is a brawny dual-screen smartphone with a big 6.8-inch viewing area, so it can feel bulky in smaller hands. It also has a decent 64-megapixel main camera and a slightly aging Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 processor, but where it really shines is in the sound reproduction department. The built-in phone DAC features immersive sound, which is perfect for finally committing to that Tidal lossless streaming subscription.

3 Sony Xperia 1 V Well, it’s Sony, isn’t it? Featuring that matte black finish that’s a signature look of so many Sony devices, the Xperia 1 V still has an audiophile-coveted dedicated headphone jack, plus a high-resolution DAC that supports various high-fidelity audio codecs. It also boasts a stunning 4K OLED display and powerful performance.

Sony takes pride in their hi-fidelity support Trending towards the latest Bluetooth standard and the best wireless headphones , the latest flagship smartphones are all about workout freedom and tangle-free music listening while commuting. In supporting a premium DAC and headphone jack, it’s clear that Sony doesn’t want to give up their staunch support for the hi-fidelity music market.

Note: You will need, however, to invest in an equally premium wired pair of in-ear or over-ear monitors to get the best out of this phone, but then the same can be said for any of the devices on this list.

4 Asus ROG Phone 7 Ultimate Another entry from Asus finds its way onto this list. This time, it’s the gaming-first ROG Phone 7 Ultimate edition. The device is powerful, which is a ‘natch for a mobile gaming platform, yet it’s not just the game NPCs that gain an edge from its powerful processing innards. The hi-res audio-certified phone is a champion of lossless music fidelity.

The aesthetic is too gamer for some The only thing holding the ROG 7 back from being crowned king of this list is its mediocre performance in other important mobile metrics. For example, the styling of the phone won’t suit those with aesthetic sensitivities, nor will the distinctly average camera. Finishing on a positive note, let’s not forget its gaming power and rumbling speakers.

Asus ROG Phone 7 Ultimate

The Asus ROG Phone 7 Ultimate easily holds to its namesake, offering one of the best gaming phones Android has ever seen. Not only do you get top-of-the-line specs with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB storage, but you also get competent software to play and record games with, not to mention haptic shoulder buttons for the times you're away from your controller. So if Android gaming is your passion, Asus has launched a stunner with the ROG Phone 7 Ultimate.

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5 Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra Shouldn’t a Samsung flagship sit at the tippy-top of this list? Arguably, yes, and while the S24 exists, the Samsung S23 Ultra can be had cheaper. While it doesn’t feature an old-school 3.5-mm headphone jack. All the same, it’s leagues ahead of similarly specced smartphones due to its Dolby Atmos speakers and high-fidelity sound output.

No headphone jack doesn't mean you can't still have a wired connection Despite the absence of a headphone jack, the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra still delivers an exceptional audio experience for music lovers and audiophiles alike. IEM listening is viable through a USB connection, but the preferred hookup will always be through a USB-C to jack adapter, which does feel a little cumbersome if you're on the move while wearing your headphones.

Taking a different route to soundscape clarity, join the wireless revolution. Sure, it’s not what audio purists typically use. They prefer a wired connection and a warmly immersive built-in DAC with plenty of tonal range, but LDAC and aptX wireless audio codecs are now mature and capable of reproducing high-res music.

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra

$875 $1200 Save $325

If you're looking for the best of the best out of Android in 2023, the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is it. It's the only one in the S23 lineup to feature the company's flagship 200MP ISOCELL HP2 camera sensor, the only one with a 5,000mAh battery, and the only one to push the storage envelope up to 1TB. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform for Galaxy should run fast and easily. Everything on that 6.8" Dynamic AMOLED 2x display (the only one in the series with adaptive refresh rates between 1 and 120Hz) should look smooth and beautiful. And who can forget about all the note-taking features and the added convenience the S Pen brings? This is Samsung's all-out effort for the Galaxy S nameplate.

$1111 at Amazon $1200 at Best Buy $875 at Samsung

The audio jack isn’t quite on life support just yet True, but it’s getting harder to justify its presence when everything else on a smartphone is digital. A chip that’s specifically designed to turn digital signals into potentially noisy analog does seem a little antiquated, on the whole.

Audiophiles feel differently. Even though there’s a market for external DACs, and we have an article on the best DACs of 2024 , their focus remains stubbornly on smartphones with internal music fidelity. Strangely enough, it’s the one time that a phone feature rates higher than more typical hardware performance indicators like screen sharpness and processor power.

At times, this may even lead sound purists down the road of older handhelds, such as the LG V60. They’re willing to sacrifice the latest smartphone features in favor of a device that can reproduce music with unparalleled clarity. While the rest of us move forward, they’re content to bask in the warm analog-y sounds of a DAC, and they wouldn’t have it any other way.

5 best Android phones for audiophiles

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